by sunshine | Sep 28, 2023 | Exercise, Healthy Living, Pain
Today we’re going to go over how you’re supposed to walk. You may not know that you are walking wrong, and you could be making things worse, maybe even increasing your back pain. I’ve been doing a lot of research recently about bio-archaeology. It is about how humans developed and moved away from our ancestors. I love this topic because our spines, in particular, are of great study because they’ve changed so much versus our nearest ancestors, which would be the chimpanzee. Chimpanzees, being our nearest primate relative, have spines that are very, very different from our spines. And it all comes down to this: humans are built to walk. Chimpanzees are built to live in trees. And so what humans have done in the course of our evolution is to change our spines to allow us to walk... Continue Reading
by Dr. Merrill | Jun 21, 2023 | Healthy Living, Pain
I’ve got an incredible story for today’s blog that I wanted to share. I think it’s essential for you, but I need to preface some of the stories with some background information, and today’s background information will bore you to tears. I’m kidding. I’m kidding. It’s me. So tonight’s background information concerns the FDA and the Food and Drug Administration. Have you ever heard those letters before? Then you hear about it in the news occasionally. It seems like everyone has a positive or negative connotation with the FDA these days. First, let’s dive into where it started, why it started, and maybe what it’s become. The U.S. government realized that food items, drinks, drugs, and snake oil-type things were being sold all over the place. And we needed some way to stop that because it was killing people,... Continue Reading
by Dr. Merrill | Apr 28, 2022 | Accident/Injury, Pain
Here at Nightlight Chiropractic, one of my favorite patient groups in Orlando is people with disc herniations. I love treating disc herniation patients, especially when I can help prevent them from having surgery. And this happens all the time for us here, where we run across a patient, and we’re able to get them symptom-free without having to go through any surgery. We want to keep them off the narcotics. We want to keep them from having that surgery. And I bet you right now, you’re thinking about that person you know, whether it’s your friend, your family member, maybe just some acquaintance you met one time that’s struggling with a disc herniation. They were told, “You have a disc herniation, and you have one option: surgery. Do you want it, yes or no?” I’m trying to say that... Continue Reading
by Dr. Merrill | Dec 15, 2021 | Accident/Injury, Guidance, Pain
In our last blog, we discussed a variety of different shoulder complaints that we do very well at treating here at our Orlando chiropractic office. I want to share a little more about the rotator cuff. First, you need to understand what the rotator cuff is and does. A lot of people use this word completely wrong. I hear rotator cup a lot—rotator cup, like a cup of coffee. I don’t know what people are hearing when we’re saying this stuff, but the rotator cuff is four muscles that come across from your back across, and they all insert into your shoulder. These muscles allow you to move your arm out and in, and they are very easy to injure. Everyone thinks these are big, healthy muscles or big, thick muscles. Actually, they’re teeny, tiny strips of muscle that... Continue Reading
by Dr. Merrill | Nov 5, 2021 | Accident/Injury, Guidance, Massage, Pain
Let’s talk about shoulder pain. Many people think of chiropractors only in the context of back pain, neck pain, and headaches because we have reams of research that prove that we do very well with these things. But it’s much less well known by the general population that chiropractors can be very effective at treating shoulders. CAUSES OF SHOULDER PAIN When we discuss shoulder pain, understand that, much like back pain, there are a lot of different causes. Your shoulder pain may not be like any of the types we will cover here. It is essential to get a correct diagnosis from your medical doctor, chiropractor, and physical therapist before you begin any treatment programs. The shoulder is a complex collection of joints, muscles, and connective tissues designed to have extra range of motion compared to our hips, but... Continue Reading
by Dr. Merrill | Nov 13, 2020 | Accident/Injury, Pain
Let’s talk a little bit about whiplash. Why do some people get better quickly after whiplash and others take a little bit longer to feel better? It’s been estimated that about 50% of Americans live with chronic pain right now, most commonly low back pain, knee pain, headaches, and neck pain in that order. And these pains make up about 95% of the reason why people go to the chiropractor. Whether you call us Nite Lite Chiropractic, Night lite, or Night Light Chiropractic, so many people show up here at our office because of whiplash. When people have neck pain, back pain, or headaches, they go to the chiropractor. And the reason for that is that spinal manipulation. Adjustments to the spine have been proven to be great at reducing some of that pain, and chiropractic adjustment are on... Continue Reading